Vikings (TV series)

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Television series
German title Vikings
Original title Vikings
Vikings-logo.png
Country of production Canada
Ireland
original language English
Year (s) since 2013
length 45 minutes
Episodes 79+ in 6 seasons ( list )
genre historically fictional
idea Michael Hirst
music If I Had a Heart - Fever Ray
First broadcast March 3, 2013 (Canada) on History Television
German-language
first broadcast
June 21, 2013 at LOVEFiLM .com
occupation

Vikings is a Canadian - Irish television series , which is loosely based on the stories about the legendary Viking Ragnar Lothbrok , his sons and the shieldmaiden Lagertha and mixes historical events of the Viking Age with fictional elements.

It premiered in Canada on March 3, 2013 on History Television . By May 2014, two seasons were shown in full in Canada; the broadcast of the third season began on February 19, 2015. Less than a month later, the production of a fourth season was announced, which includes 20 episodes and has been aired since February 2016. In March 2016, the broadcaster extended the series by a fifth season with 20 episodes, which have been broadcast since November 29, 2017. In September 2017, a sixth season with another 20 episodes was announced, in which the leading actress Katheryn Winnick will direct for the first time.

In January 2019, the end of the series after the sixth season was announced.

action

The plot is set at the beginning of the Viking Age in the early Middle Ages , but without any claim to historical accuracy. The focus is on the story of the Viking Ragnar Lothbrok (in the German version Ragnar Lodbrok ), whose character is based on Ragnar Lodbrok , a heroic figure in Nordic saga literature. Another main character is the shield maiden Lagertha, whose model is the warrior Lathgertha from the Gesta Danorum of Saxo Grammaticus , here as there the first wife of Ragnar.

The series addresses, among other things, the first Viking voyages and the following military conflicts in England , various customs and traditions (e.g. human sacrifice , North Germanic religion , Nordic mythology ) and political power struggles. The series also deals with the encounter of the Vikings with Christianity and the effects of the Christianization of Scandinavia .

First season

Ragnar and his wife Lagertha live on their estate near the fictional coastal town of Kattegat . They are dissatisfied with the politics of their tribe, as their leader Jarl Haraldson does not dare to do anything new and wants to stick to the traditional. In particular, the goal of the annual summer raids causes conflict. Like every year, the Jarl wants to sail east to the Baltic States, although there are hardly any worthwhile destinations there. Ragnar, on the other hand, wants to travel west across the North Sea in order to gain new prey in the "western countries", especially in England. The project is controversial, especially because at this point in time it is not clear whether these "westerners" even exist. The Jarl prevails, mainly because he owns all the ships. However, Ragnar succeeds in using a sun compass in conjunction with a sun stone as a new navigation option . Together with the shipbuilder Floki, they succeed in invading Anglo-Saxon England on a secretly built ship , where the Vikings plunder the Lindisfarne monastery in the empire of Northumbria and gain rich booty. Several monks are taken as slaves. It is here that Ragnar meets Brother Athelstan for the first time. While other monks consider the attack by the Vikings to be a portent of the apocalypse , Athelstan hides and tries to save a copy of the Gospel of John from the plundering Vikings. Ragnar prevents his brother Rollo from killing Athelstan, not least because Athelstan speaks a little Old Norse.

Richly laden with church treasures and with five monks as slaves, the Vikings return home. However, the jarl claims all of the loot. Each of the men can only take a piece of the booty from the treasure. To everyone's astonishment, Ragnar chooses Athelstan. The standing of Ragnar in the eyes of men has nevertheless grown. He manages to get another booty trip to England from the Jarl. In order to get permission, however, he has to take Canute with him, a henchman of the Jarl. Ragnar's wife Lagertha is also there. Thanks to Ragnar's tactical skills, they can again make rich booty this time. Since Ragnar has the attack carried out during the service , his men can arrest the entire population of the attacked city at once. Lagertha arrives when Knut tries to rape an Anglo-Saxon woman. When she stops him, he attacks her and wants to rape her too, whereupon she kills him. A large group of Anglo-Saxon soldiers from King Ælle await them on the beach . However, the Vikings fight them down very quickly and lose few men in the process.

Ragnar's fame increases with his renewed success. Although Jarl Haraldson claims part of the booty, the raid is still considered a success. The increasing reputation of Ragnar displeases the Jarl, who takes action against Ragnar, whose court burns down and kills the servants. Ragnar and his family can barely escape. Ragnar didn't expect his older brother Rollo's feelings either. In the end, Jarl Haraldson is defeated by Ragnar in a duel, and Ragnar takes the lead as the new Jarl. After the first raids, the Anglo-Saxons prepare better for the attacks by the Vikings, and various military clashes arise. Since the Vikings succeed in taking King Aelle's brother hostage, the King of Northumbria has to invite them to negotiate , whether or not they want it. Ragnar is interested in the Anglo-Saxon way of life, which he learns over a formal dinner at the king's residence. In pretense, King Aelle accepts Ragnar's high ransom demand in order to gain time to call up new troops. When his military ruse fails and Ragnar sends the king's brother back as a corpse, Aelle is nevertheless forced to pay the ransom. But he swears revenge and is from now on Ragnar's unforgiving mortal enemy. Ragnar allies himself with the Viking king Horik at the end of the first season , with the aim of carrying out an even bigger raid in England together. Rollo teams up with Jarl Borg, one of King Horik's enemies, to fight with him against Horik and Ragnar.

Second season

Anglo-Saxon England during Egbert's reign

At the beginning of the second season there is a bitter battle between Jarl Borg and Rollo on one side and Horik and Ragnar on the other. After Rollo kills one of his former comrades, he surrenders to Ragnar, disaffected. Ragnar manages to mediate a fragile peace between Horik and Borg by promising both of them to participate in the next British raid. Borg then gives in to Horik. Ragnar's wife Lagertha and her son leave him after his lover Aslaug is expecting a child and moves in with him. At the same time, the political intrigues in which Rollo is initially involved continue. In the second episode there is a time jump of four years. Ragnar already has two children with Aslaug, and a third child is on the way. Ragnar leaves for England with Horik, where they land on an unknown coast after a severe storm. It turns out to be the Kingdom of Wessex . King Egbert rules there , who is evidently a capable and feared ruler and who is preparing for the new threat. King Horik's son Ari dies during the raid.

Meanwhile, there is also a conflict between Ragnar and Jarl Borg. This was provoked by King Horik, who asked Ragnar to break an existing agreement between Horik, Ragnar and Borg. The consequence is a Jarl Borg attack on the Kattegat in the absence of Ragnar. Rollo, who was taken back by his brother but left behind in Kattegat, organizes the defense and manages to get Ragnar's family to safety. Ragnar is then forced to leave England immediately. At the request of King Horik, he leaves the priest Athelstan, who has meanwhile been accepted in the village community, as translator and negotiator. However, he is captured and ultimately wins the trust of King Egbert, who is very interested in ancient culture. Jarl Borg is killed with the cruel method of the blood eagle (blood hair ). After Ragnar defeats Jarl Borg, the Vikings return to England. King Egbert has now allied himself with King Aelle, whose daughter Princess Judith is married to his heir Prince Aethelwulf in order to seal the alliance. The united troops of the Anglo-Saxon kings succeed in defeating the Vikings thanks to Egbert's knowledge of ancient strategies. Egbert is interested in an alliance with the Vikings and offers them settlement land, to which Ragnar reacts openly. Several Vikings volunteer to serve as mercenaries in exchange for land in England.

King Horiks betrayed, who at times apparently managed to pull Floki and Jarl Haraldson's widow Siggy to his side. Finally, the two leaders meet in the great halls of the Kattegat, and King Horik realizes that Floki and Siggy never betrayed Ragnar. Horik is killed by Ragnar, only his son Erlendur is spared.

Third season

Count Odo defends Paris against the Northmen ; History painting by Jean-Pierre Franque , 1837

Ragnar, Rollo, Lagertha and their Vikings have gone to Wessex, where King Egbert has given them land. Ragnar promises Princess Kwenthrith of Mercia support in the battle for the throne against her uncle and brother. In Lagertha's territory Hedeby ( Haithabu ), however, her confidante Kalf is pursuing his own plans. He intrigues successfully against Lagertha when she is in England and seizes power, supported by King Horik's son Erlendur. Meanwhile, in Ragnar's domain, where Aslaug stayed behind, a mysterious wanderer appears for a short time who appears to have god-like powers. Aslaug finally falls for him when he heals her young son Ivar (who is based on the historical Viking leader Ivar Ragnarsson ) at least partially from his severe pain. The relationship between Ragnar and Aslaug, but also between Ragnar and Floki, deteriorates increasingly.

In England the troops of Ragnar and King Egbert triumph over Mercia, where the power-conscious Kwenthrith ascends the throne and also kills her surviving brother. Lagertha had an affair with King Egbert for some time, who promised to help the new settlers. Athelstan has a brief affair with Egbert's daughter-in-law Judith, who already has a legitimate son from her husband Aethelwulf and who takes the opportunity to become pregnant again. Her father King Aelle, a guest in Wessex, suspects difficulties in her marriage and emphatically, but too late, advises her of her duties. Egbert's son Aethelwulf finally finds out about the affair. After most of the Vikings left Wessex, Aethelwulf launched a brutal attack on their English settlement. King Egbert seems to be punishing the guilty noblemen, but the truth is that the attack was part of his plan to eliminate the Vikings on the spot and to secure long-term supremacy over all of England. He succeeds in securing supremacy over Mercia. In addition, he takes his daughter-in-law as his mistress after he broke off her bloody public punishment after naming Athelstan as the father of her unborn child. Ragnar's confidante Athelstan is murdered by Floki, who never trusted the Anglo-Saxon and was jealous of his good relationship with Ragnar. It later becomes clear that Ragnar knows about Floki's perpetration and has not forgiven him.

Ragnar undertakes a large-scale raid with a large fleet on the West Franconian capital Paris . The first attack from the river and land side is repulsed by the defenders, with the Vikings suffering heavy losses. Further attacks are also repulsed, albeit with difficulty, by the defenders of Paris, but food in the city is becoming scarce.

The West Franconian King Karl (based on Karl the Kahlen ) decided to negotiate with the Vikings. Ragnar goes alone where the Vikings are promised large amounts of gold and silver. Seriously wounded in the fighting, Ragnar has another condition: He wants to be baptized as a Christian, which is still happening on the spot, to the horror of the other Viking leaders. The near death Ragnar wishes a Christian burial. His coffin is brought to the city's cathedral in Paris, where a service is held. The coffin opens unexpectedly and the still alive Ragnar and the Vikings present take Princess Gisla hostage and open the gates of the city. Paris is looted; then the majority of the Vikings leave. However, a part remains under the guidance of Rollos. King Charles is desperate knowing that the Northmen will return next year. He therefore offers Rollo the hand of his daughter, the elevation to the nobility and a large fiefdom in the north of his empire, if in return he defends Paris in the future. Rollo responds to this.

Fourth season

The fourth season is again about an attack on Paris. Ragnar and Rollo encounter each other as enemies. After the attack on Paris, the Vikings around Ragnar Lothbrok return to Kattegat. While his father is recovering from his injuries, Bjorn calls for the arrest of Floki, who confessed to Athelstan's murder in Paris. In Paris, Rollo turns against the last allies of his homeland in order to strengthen his position at the West Franconian court and to win the favor of his bride, Princess Gisla - without success. After Ragnar has recovered, he starts a second foray into Paris with the Vikings. He came across a chain and other defensive works of his brother Rollo before the gates of Paris . The Vikings suffer a defeat, but have not yet given up. In another fight, Ragnar and his brother Rollo finally clash, who face each other on different sides in this battle. Rollos preparations bear fruit: Ragnar and the Vikings are defeated, Paris is safe and Rollo is celebrated as a hero by the West Franks. Ragnar and the Vikings must flee.

In Britain, Queen Kwenthrith has since been overthrown from the throne of Mercias and imprisoned with her young son. With the help of Prince Aethelwulf, she manages to escape to Wessex. King Aelle of Northumbria pays his ally King Egbert of Wessex a visit during Advent and angrily confronts his daughter Judith about her scandalous relationship with her father-in-law during the Epiphany Day celebrations. Despite this discovery, he sticks to the alliance with King Egbert. Egbert and Aelle now want to restore order in Mercia, but Egbert is playing a wrong game. First he organized a pilgrimage to Rome for his grandson Alfred (Judith's son von Athelstan) , on which Aethelwulf was to accompany him, giving Egbert a free hand to lead his armed force personally to Mercia. At a secret meeting with the usurper Wigstan , he voluntarily renounces the throne, whereby Egbert now becomes king of Wessex and Mercia without a fight and thus betrays his allies Kwenthrith and Aelle. With this the alliance between Wessex and Northumbria is finally broken.

After a leap in time - between six and eight years is estimated - it goes back to Kattegat, which has transformed into an important trading center over the years. Ragnar's reputation has suffered severely with the revelation of the ruined settlement in England and his illegitimate son Magnus. Even his family is badly hit by the revelations. After returning from his long absence, he has no more allies. Ragnar meets his now grown-up sons Hvitserk, Ivar, Ubbe and Sigurd, who also feel betrayed by their father. Ragnar, surrounded by Vikings and his family, who all treat him with hatred, asks them who dares to kill him and thus become king.

Ragnar can only put together a team with difficulty and finally goes to England with Ivar. After a storm, they strand on the Wessex coast and are captured. King Egbert is delighted to have a chat with Ragnar. In conversation, they reveal many motives for their previous actions and also that Ragnar no longer really believes in the gods, while Egbert clings to the religious despite all the tough realpolitik. Since Egbert stubbornly refuses to kill Ragnar, Ragnar suggests handing him over to his old enemy, King Aelle. Then if Ragnar's sons were to avenge him, which was certain to happen, it would not affect Wessex; Ivar should be allowed to return to Kattegat safely. Egbert agrees, but Ragnar confides in Ivar, to whom he has slowly established a connection, that the following revenge should hit Wessex. Ragnar is handed over to Aelle, who after all these years can finally keep his oath and kills Ragnar in a snake pit.

The marches of the historic Great Army of 865 through England

Meanwhile, the situation in Kattegat has changed. Lagertha takes power there and kills Aslaug, whereupon the returned Ivar in particular seeks revenge. Bjorn makes an advance with a larger Viking fleet as far as southern Spain, where they end up in a Muslim town. There Helga finds the orphan girl Tanaruz, who takes her to Norway. Bjorn and his half-brothers learn of their father's death and gather again in Kattegat. There the Vikings decide to avenge the death of Ragnar, the greatest hero of their people. They collect a large fleet and cross over to England. Several of the assembled princes have their own interests in mind and there are tensions, including between Ivar and his other brothers. King Aelle underestimates the size of the Viking army (which is based on the large army that actually invaded England in 865/66), loses the battle and is brutally killed by the notorious blood eagle torture (see season 2).

Then the Vikings invade Wessex. Egbert's son Aethelwulf confronts them with an army, but is defeated, with Ivar significantly influencing the battle plan. Egbert renounces the crown in favor of Aethelwulf and surrenders himself to the Vikings. He holds them off by the official transfer of land and thus also buys the opportunity to die by suicide in the style of ancient philosophers instead of Aelle by a blood eagle. A dispute broke out among the Vikings about how to proceed. Bjorn wants to move on to the Mediterranean (the Mediterranean crossing takes place in the series 845, but this does not fit the timing, since the attack on Paris also takes place in 845), other Vikings want to settle in England, as Ragnar had already planned, while Ivar, for example, on others Conquests in England is over. The great army of the Vikings dissolves, but before that Ivar kills his brother Sigurd in a dispute. Helga is stabbed to death by Tanaruz, who then also kills herself.

Fifth season (first half)

After the Viking army avenged Ragnar's death, Ragnar's sons did their job. The community begins to fall apart. Some plan to claim and colonize the land promised by King Egbert. Others wanted to undertake further campaigns of conquest or travel home.

Floki is a broken man after Helga's death. He leaves the armed forces in England alone. A storm brings him to the coast of an unknown volcanic island ( Iceland ). Weakened and close to death, the gods appear to him and he thinks he is in Asgard . When he can regain his clear thoughts, he decides to leave the island in order to recruit settlers on behalf of the gods.

King Harald decides to return to Kattegat. He promises to report on the heroic deeds in England. At the same time he forges a plan to become king of all of Norway. In Kattegat he kidnaps Astrid, Lagertha's lover, and makes her his wife.

Harald's brother Halfdan joins Björn, who sets off for the Mediterranean with a small troop of Vikings. You sail as far as Sicily and are hired as the bodyguard of the rather insignificant Byzantine governor Euphemios , who rebelled against Emperor Michael II . Björn's thirst for knowledge drives him on. He convinces Euphemios to accompany him to North Africa, where a powerful Muslim ruler named Ziyadat Allah resides, to whom Euphemios pays tribute.

The relationship between Ivar and his brothers Hvitserk and Ubbe is still heavily strained. While Ubbe and Hvitserk wish peace and land in England, Ivar seeks more raids. So Ivar convinces his brothers to raid York . The Vikings take the city by surprise and begin to establish themselves. They expand the fortifications of the city, as they fear an attack by Anglo-Saxon troops under the command of Egbert's son Aethelwulf and Bishop Heahmund von Sherborne ; the latter sees himself as a soldier of God and takes an active part in combat operations with his men. The first attempt to retake York fails due to Ivar's plans. Ubbe and Hvitserk then lead peace negotiations behind Ivar's back, but they fail; they are sent back humiliated and mistreated by Bishop Heahmund. The Vikings under Ivar's leadership repel the subsequent attack by the Anglo-Saxons. As a result, Ivar claims command of the army for himself. Ubbe leaves England with some confidants to sail to Kattegat, while Hvitserk reluctantly joins Ivar, who, however, disdains him.

In Kattegat, Lagertha takes on Ubbe and Björn returns from the Mediterranean. Ivar takes Bishop Heahmund of Sherborne prisoner in another argument with the Anglo-Saxons . Björn marries a Sami princess. Ivar decides to kill Lagertha and sails back to Norway, where he allies with Harald. Bishop Heahmund decides to fight for Ivar. At the full moon the troops of Ivars and Lagerthas face each other. After a bitter battle, Lagertha's troops win and capture Bishop Heahmund, who was injured in the battle. Ivar sends Hvitserk to France to get Rollo for a favor. Bishop Heahmund falls in love with Lagertha and decides to fight for her.

In the meantime, King Aethelwulf dies after a bee sting and it is open who will be his successor. The lords want Aethelred, Aethelwulf's biological son, but his mother wants to see her other son Alfred, whom she fathered with the monk Aethelstan, on the throne. After a lot of pressure from her side, Aethelred gives in and hands over the crown to his half-brother.

The settlers that Floki brought to Iceland are dissatisfied because they did not get the promised fertile land. A blood feud breaks out between two families, resulting in several deaths. Since Floki is convinced that he must make the gods happy, he proposes himself as a sacrifice.

Hvitserk returns to Norway with an army of his uncle Rollo and Ivar leads the troops that are now strong enough against Lagertha. In a final battle in which Harald has to kill his brother Halfdan and Lagertha stabs her pregnant lover, a bitter fight ensues. Björn's wife and her father are killed, but Ubbe spares his brother Hvitserk. Eventually Lagertha must retreat and Ivar wins the battle.

Rollo returns to Kattegat as the leader of a huge army.

Historical background

Series inventor Michael Hirst states:

“I especially had to take liberties with 'Vikings' because no one knows for sure what happened in the Dark Ages. [...] We want people to watch it. A historical account of the Vikings would reach hundreds, occasionally thousands, of people. Here we've got to reach millions. "

“I had to allow myself special freedoms for 'Vikings' because nobody knows exactly what happened in the Dark Ages . [...] We want people to look at it. A historical retelling would reach a few hundred, maybe a few thousand people. But we want to reach millions. "

Historians have criticized both the equipment details of the series (for example clothing and weapons) as well as the living conditions, the structure of rule and the behavior of the characters because they do not correspond to the state of historical research in the TV series or refer to completely different epochs and times . Other details, on the other hand, such as the size of the armies and combat groups depicted, which were certainly small in the 9th century, as well as the "wild" individual combat tactics and the shield wall, approximate the historically verifiable findings. However , there is no historical evidence of whether women actually fought on the Viking trains.

In addition, the series works with the method of condensing and merging real historical events that actually took place in the Viking Age, but spread over a much longer period of time. The first Viking attack in England (on the Lindisfarne monastery ) took place in 793, the attack on Paris, however, only in 845, more than 50 years later, by a certain Reginheri . Horik I ruled from 827 to 854, Egbert von Wessex from 802 to 839, Ælle von Northumbria only from 862 to 866 or 867, i.e. at the time of Egbert's son Aethelwulf. Aethelwulf was married to a princess named Judith, but she was a daughter of Charles the Bald. Count Odo of Paris lived from 866-898 and in 885 led the successful defense of Paris against the last Viking raid under Charlemagne . The beginnings of the Scandinavian mission of the young Ansgar, on the other hand, took place in the 820s. In 845, at the time of the first Viking attack on Paris by Reginheri, Charles the Bald was King of West Franconia, but the enfeoffment of Rollo as the first Duke of Normandy did not happen until 911 by Charles the Simple . The Byzantine Emperor Michael II mentioned in the 5th season, in turn, ruled at the beginning of the 9th century, while the Viking invasion of England described in seasons 4.2 and 5 took place in 866.

The character of Ragnar Lodbrok is fabulous anyway and difficult to reconstruct; the aforementioned Reginheri may have acted as the historical core for the medieval tales about Ragnar - the two sagas Ragnar Lodbroks Saga and the saga of Ragnar's sons . Other events are also brought together in time, shortened or otherwise changed, while certain basic historical features (such as the Viking invasion of England in 865/66, in which Ivar Ragnarsson played an important role) are incorporated.

Another historical reference is Floki's exploration of Iceland , which refers to Flóki Vilgerðarson , although Floki's other curriculum vitae cannot match that of the historical Flóki. Other historically documented people who appear in the series are the kings Alfred the Great of Wessex and Harald Fairhair of Norway . The warlike Bishop Heahmund really existed. He was killed in 871 at the Battle of Marton.

production

In early 2012, the Canadian television broadcaster History Television announced that it would produce its first self-produced television series. The Vikings series was ordered with a budget of $ 40 million.

The first roles were awarded at the end of May 2012. Gabriel Byrne , Clive Standen , Jessalyn Gilsig and Travis Fimmel have been cast for the lead roles. The first filming began in July 2012 at Ashford Studios, Ireland, with field shoots at Luggala, a mountain in the Wicklow Mountains .

For the second season, Alexander Ludwig and Linus Roache were cast for new leading roles. Ludwig slips into the role of the youngster Bjorn Lodbrok and Roache plays King Egbert of Wessex .

A sixth season was officially confirmed in mid-September 2017, and filming began that same month. Michael Hirst, creator of the series, confirmed that in the new episodes the Vikings will travel to Russia, which was founded by the Vikings as Rus . Russian actor Danila Kozlovsky takes on the role of Oleg of Novgorod , a Russian prince who was also known as "Oleg the Prophet"; the German-Russian actor Lenn Kudrjawizki takes on the role of his brother, Prince Dir.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack comes from the Canadian composer Trevor Morris and contains numerous contributions by the Norwegian neo-folk band Wardruna .

In the intro to each episode you can hear an excerpt from the title If I had a heart by the Swedish artist Karin Dreijer Andersson and her solo project Fever Ray .

Cast and dubbing

A first German synchronization emerged in 2013 after a dialogue book and the dialogue director of Olaf Mierau by the synchronous company Studio Funk in Berlin .

From 2015, a new dubbing version from ProSieben and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was commissioned from the Berlin dubbing company Arena Synchron . The dialogue book is now written by Holger Twellmann and Oliver Schwiegershausen , who is also directing the dialogue.

Main cast

Current main cast

Role name actor Main role Supporting role Voice actor
(version 1)
Voice actor
(version 2)
Bjorn iron side Alexander Ludwig 2.03– Yoshij Grimm Julius Jellinek
The seer John Kavanagh 4.01– 1.01-3.10 Thomas Wolff Axel Lutter
King Harald "fair hair" Peter Franzén 4.04– Alexander Doering
Hvitserk Marco Ilsø 4.11– 4.10 Patrick Baehr
Ivar Alex Høgh Andersen 4.11– 4.10 Patrick Keller
Ubbe Jordan Patrick Smith 4.11– 4.10 Patrick Roche
Oleg Danila Kozlovsky 6.01–
Erik the Red Eric Johnson 6.06–
Torvi Georgia Hirst 6.09– 2.03-6.08 Julia Stoepel
Gunnhild Ragga Ragnars 6.09– 5.14–6.08
Othere Ray Stevenson 6.09–

Former leading actors

Role name actor Main role Supporting role Voice actor
(version 1)
Voice actor
(version 2)
Jarl Haraldson Gabriel Byrne 1.01–1.06 Eberhard Haar
Siggy Haraldson Jessalyn Gilsig 1.01-3.04 Silvia Missbach Andrea Aust
King Ragnar Lothbrok Travis Fimmel 1.01-4.15 Steffen Groth (Season 1)
Jan-David Rönfeldt (Season 2)
Björn Schalla
Roller blind Clive Standen 1.01-4.17 5.10-5.11 Mike Hoffmann (Season 1)

Sebastian Walch (Season 2)

Markus Pfeiffer
Floki Gustaf Skarsgård 1.01-5.19 Gerald Schaale Matthias Deutelmoser
Lagertha Katheryn Winnick 1.01–6.07 Andrea Cleven Natascha Schaff
Athelstan George Blagden 1.02-3.06 3.09, 4.03, 4.06 Nicolás Artajo Tobias Nath
King Horik I. Donal Logue 1.08-2.10 Torsten Münchow Michael Iwannek
Queen Aslaug Lothbrok Alyssa Sutherland 1.09-4.14 Ann have a lot Rubina Nath
King Egbert of Wessex Linus Roache 2.02-4.20 Michael Lott
Jarl Kalf Ben Robson 3.01-4.05 Roman Wolko
Harbard Kevin Durand 3.02-3.04, 4.06-4.08 Bernd Vollbrecht
the Emperor Karl Lothaire Bluteau 3.07-4.10 Frank-Otto Schenk
Halfdan Jasper Pääkkönen 4.05-5.10 Marios Gavrilis
Sigurd David Lindström 4.11-4.20 4.10 Christian Pointer
Aethelwulf Moe Dunford 4.13-5.09 2.03-4.09 Simon Derksen Manuel Straube
Bishop Heahmund Jonathan Rhys Meyers 4.20-5.15 Norman Matt

Supporting cast

Role name actor Supporting role Voice actor
(version 1)
Voice actor
(version 2)
Bjorn (as a child) Nathan O'Toole 1.01-2.01, 4.06 Andi Wittmann Ole Rebstock
Gyda Ruby O'Leary 1.01-1.09, 4.06 Johanna Riemann Clara Drews
Svein David Pearse 1.01–1.06 Bernhard Völger Hans Hohlbein
Erik Vladimir Kulich 1.01-1.04 Karsten Troyke Leon Boden
Knut Eric Higgins 1.01-1.04 Marcus Ostberg
Torstein Jefferson Hall 1.02-3.03 Sebastian Walch Matti Klemm
Arne Tadhg Murphy 1.02-2.01 Oliver Bender Fabian Oscar Vienna
Leif Diarmaid Murtagh 1.02-1.08 Marko groom Jaron Lowenberg
Kauko Jouko Ahola 1.02-1.04 Otto Strecker
Æll Ivan Kaye 1.04-4.18 Bert Franzke Tilo Schmitz
Thyri Haraldson Elinor Crawley 1.04-1.09, 3.04 Amelie Plaas-Link
Helga Maude Hirst 1.05-4.20 Sandrine Mittelstädt Nicole Hannak
Jarl Borg Thorbjørn Harr 1.09-2.07 Oliver Siebeck Dennis Schmidt-Foss
Erlendur Edvin Endre 2.02-4.09 Simon Derksen Maximilian Artajo
Ubbe Lothbrok (as a child) Cormac Melia 2.02-3.06
Hvitserk Lothbrok (as a child) Cathal O'Hallin 2.02-3.06
Queen Kwenthrith Amy Bailey 2.02, 2.08-4.08 Victoria Storm
Bishop Edmund Philip O'Sullivan 2.03-4.20 Uli Krohm
Þorunn Gaia Weiss 2.06-3.08 Kathrin Neusser
Einar Steve Wall 2.06-4.01 Thomas Nero Wolff
Judith Sarah Greene 2.07-2.09
Jennie Jacques 3.01-5.19 Esra Vural
Sinric Frankie McCafferty 3.06-4.01, 5.04-5.05 Tobias Lelle
Duke Odo Owen Roe 3.07-4.08 Helmut Gauss
Roland Huw Parmenter 3.07-4.10 François Smesny
Princess Gisla Morgane Polanski 3.07-4.17 Friederike Walke
Therese Karen Hassan 3.08-4.10 Sonja Spuhl
Yidu Dianne Doan 4.01-4.08 Yvonne Greitzke
Prudentius Seán Ó Meallaigh 4.02-4.09 Julien Haggége
Astrid Josefin Asplund 4.11-5.10 Mareile Moeller
Margrethe Ida Nielsen 4.11-5.12
Tanaruz Sinead Gormally 4.16-4.20
Egil Charlie Kelly 4.17-4.19
Freydis Alicia Agneson 5.01-5.20 Melinda Rachfahl
Alfred the Great Ferdia Walsh-Peelo 5.01-5.19 Sebastian Kluckert
White hair Kieran O'Reilly 5.01, 5.05, 5.10, 5.19-6.06
Kjetill flat nose Adam Copeland 5.05–
Eyvind Kris Holden-Ried 5.05-5.17
Thorunn Mei Bignall 5.06-5.14
Asbjorn Elijah Rowen 5.06-5.17
Rafarta Donna Dent 5.06-5.17
Helgi Jack McEvoy 5.06-5.17
Snaefried Dagny Backer Johnsen 5.07-5.10
Magnus Dean Ridge 5.12-5.20
Elsewith Roisin Murphy 5.12-5.19
King Olaf II Steven Berkoff 5.18–
Igor Oran Glynn O'Donovan 6.02–
Ingrid Lucy Martin 6.02–
to you Lenn Kudrjawizki 6.02– Lenn Kudrjawizki
Katja Alicia Agneson 6.05–

Charisma

Canada

It premiered in Canada on March 3, 2013, following the miniseries The Bible . The first self-produced series wanted to see 6.21 million viewers on the premiere day. In the weeks that followed, the ratings dropped, but then settled at 3.50 million viewers. The season finale aired on April 28, 2013. The ten-part second season ran between February 27 and May 1, 2014 and was seen by an average of around 3.20 million viewers. The third season, which in turn consists of ten episodes, ran from February to April 2015.

Germany

In Germany, the entire first season was released on June 21, 2013 via the video-on-demand provider Lovefilm . The first to sixth seasons are currently available via Amazon Video .

In free TV , ProSiebenSat.1 Media has secured the rights to the series. The first season was broadcast on the ProSieben channel from April 25 to May 9, 2014 , with three episodes being broadcast in a row.

The German premiere of the second season was again announced by the video-on-demand provider, which now operates under the name Amazon Video : On June 15, 2014, the entire season was published.

The newly dubbed series will also be available on Amazon Instant Video during the re-broadcast of the first and first broadcast of the second season on ProSieben. On June 15, 2015, Amazon Instant Video released the entire third season in German synchronization.

The first ten episodes of the 4th season were exclusively available as a German premiere on Amazon Video from June 15, 2016. On November 30, 2017, the fifth season started on Amazon Video, with two episodes published at the same time, with one new episode each per week; the corresponding mid-  season break began in February 2018. The first 5 seasons have been available on Netflix since January 1, 2020 .

Episode list

Accompanying works

In 2015, Zauberfeder Verlag published the title The World of Vikings by the author Justin Pollard with a foreword by Michael Hirst. The English original was edited by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and was published in the United States by Chronicle Books in 2015.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Bernd Michael Krannich: Play By Day: The Vikings series celebrates its US premiere on History . In: Serienjunkies.de . March 3, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  2. Kimberly Roots: Vikings Season 3 Premiere Date Set . In: TVLine.com . December 16, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  3. Matt Webb Mitovich: History Renews Vikings for Season 4 . In: TVLine.com . March 26, 2015. Accessed March 27, 2015.
  4. Arthur A .: "Vikings": Season 4 starts in February and will have 20 episodes . In: Filmfutter.com . December 18, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  5. Arthur A .: "Vikings" gets an extra long 5th season and casts Jonathan Rhys Meyers . In: Filmfutter.com . March 18, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  6. Jenna Busch: Vikings Season 6: History Renews Hit Series ( en ) In: comingsoon.net . September 12, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  7. Arthur Awanesjan: "Vikings" does not get a 7th season, instead a spin-off series is planned. In: Filmfutter. January 5, 2019, accessed January 5, 2019 .
  8. Michael Hirst, who had the idea for the series, justified the freedom because some things are not known exactly ( New York Times ). Conspicuous historical inaccuracies are, for example, that the Vikings were well aware of the position of England in the west as early as the 8th century, before the raids began (from 793). The reigns of the Anglo-Saxon rulers mentioned in the series ( Ælle (Norminiria) in season 1 and Egbert von Wessex in season 2) are also quite far apart.
  9. Such a raid by a Viking leader named Reginheri , who is seen as the historical model for Ragnar Lodbrok, actually took place in 845, see for example Gwyn Jones: A History of the Vikings. 2nd ed. Oxford 1984, pp. 212f.
  10. Julia Schmid: “Vikings” Season 4: That's behind the time jump. Series Fox, accessed on May 9, 2016 .
  11. Current historical overviews on this in Nicholas J. Higham, Martin J. Ryan: The Anglo-Saxon World. New Haven 2013, p. 232ff. and with Henrietta Leyser: A Short History of the Anglo-Saxons. London / New York 2017, pp. 93ff.
  12. Heahmund, like many other characters, is based on a real person. The not insignificant Bishop of Sherborne fell in 871 in the fight against the invading Vikings, see Richard Abels : Alfred the Great. War, Culture and Kingship in Anglo-Saxon England , London 1998, p. 134.
  13. Gilbert, Tom (February 22, 2013) “Vikings Come Ashore in a New Light,” The New York Times, accessed April 8, 2013.
  14. Walker, Lars (March 12, 2013). "History Channel Gets Vikings Precisely Wrong". The American Spectator. Retrieved March 12, 2013. Balar, Keya (March 14, 2013). "Historical Inaccuracies in 'Vikings'". Daily Targum. Retrieved April 14, 2013. Dobson, Monty (March 18, 2013) Obsessed with the Good and Bad of 'Vikings', LiveScience, accessed April 17, 2013. "TV series om vikinger skaper latter for historiske tabber". Aftenposten. April 24, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2013. Encyclopædia Britannica. "Encyclopaedia Britannica Online: crucifixion". Britannica.com. Retrieved December 19, 2009
  15. ^ Real Floki (Vikings), Raven / Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarson. In: Mythologian.Net. Mythologian.Net, accessed January 2, 2019 .
  16. Justin Neal: Meet the real Ragnar on History Channel's 'Vikings' . In: Star Tribune . March 2, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  17. Bernd Michael Krannich: Vikings: Gabriel Byrne in the first series from the History Channel . In: Serienjunkies.de . May 28, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  18. ^ Rainer Idesheim: Vikings: Jessalyn Gilsig and Travis Fimmel strengthen the Viking series . In: Serienjunkies.de . July 6, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  19. Rainer Idesheim: Vikings: Linus Roache and Alexander Ludwig committed for season 2 . In: Serienjunkies.de . June 12, 2013. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  20. Julia Schmid: "Vikings": The Vikings are coming to Russia in season 6. In: Serienfuchs.de. September 19, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017 .
  21. Darren Franich: "Vikings" cast key new character for season 6. In: EW.com. September 12, 2017, accessed on September 21, 2017 .
  22. a b c d Vikings. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on June 30, 2013 .
  23. The Expert: January 26, 2015 . In : quotemeter.de . January 26, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  24. a b c d Vikings. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on January 25, 2015 .
  25. a b c Vikings (Canada / Ireland, 2013-) . In: Synchron-Forum.de . Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 21, 2018. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / 215072.homepagemodules.de
  26. Bernd Michael Krannich: Play By Day: The Vikings series celebrates its US premiere on History . In: Serienjunkies.de . March 3, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  27. Sara Bible: Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Wins Night, 'The Bible,' Vikings', 'Shameless',' Real Housewives of Atlanta ',' Pawn Stars' & More . TV By The Numbers . March 5, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  28. Bernd Michael Krannich: Vikings: Lovefilm presents first season in June . In: Serienjunkies.de . June 13, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  29. Markus Ruoff: The Expert: October 14, 2013 . In : quotemeter.de . October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  30. Thomas Zimmer: Vikings: Season 2 as a German premiere on Amazon Prime . In: Serienjunkies.de . May 15, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  31. Julia Schmid: “Vikings” Season 4 starts in June on Amazon. In: Serienfuchs.de. May 24, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2016 .
  32. Vikings Season 5: Now on Amazon, episode guide & preview . In: KINO . ( Online [accessed November 30, 2017]).
  33. serienfuchs: From today on Netflix: The first five seasons of "Vikings". In: SERIENFUCHS. January 1, 2020, accessed on January 18, 2020 (German).
  34. The World of Vikings In: zauberfeder-verlag.de. Retrieved July 1, 2016.